Goth girls of cinema & TV - a non-definitive NYT retrospective

[irajaxon]

Beetlejuice may be the title character, but the NYT knows we all showed up for Lydia Deetz. In this little retrospective, they pay homage to our black-wearing foremothers and newcomers:

As “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” brings together two generations of legendary goth girls - Winona Ryder and Jenna Ortega - we look at some of the actresses and roles

Comments

[ohwutevernvm]

Love it! Wish there’s the same energy for black goth girls too. Hard to think of anyone potentially making to this list but maybe Rachel True (aka Rochelle) from The Craft. Eh… that was close wasn’t it

[sandstorm]

She's the first one I thought of, but I'm sure we can look at Cree Summers' IMDB page to find at least one more.

[irajaxon]

i agree! if you look at the whole list from the article, aside from jenna ortega, it is entirely white. it's a bummer, and long past time representation in/about subcultures, especially goth, is better (there might a be a cool ontd original there!).

while rochelle (and rachel true, irl) is definitely a witch, i never think of her as goth. she has more of an ~earthy witch vibe.

kat blaque is not a fictional character, but she's a goth girl through and through!

[ohwutevernvm]

I agree with you right there. That was why I brought up Rochelle though she ain’t one of ‘em goths but ehh that was close enuff. It feels like… well, it is not about ~pure aesthetics of what it means to be a goth when come to these list that happened to have white people with long past time representation in/about these mentioned subcultures. I can vibe with this list so much bc that was what I grew up with and am with you all the way. I love it.

Yet it’s so difficult bc I see so many black people especially other people of color with Afro Punk, Goth, Alt lifestyles getting flack and dragged thru mud from communities for not being black enough bc of it. We cannot win. Made me wonder if we’d peep at least one or two black goths, if for main character or Final Girl energy, who can act tf outta em on screen in this lifetime tho.

Ohh. Kat Blaque! Great example. Yeah exactly. That’s wassup

[umilicious]

Tina from Glee is mentioned, too.

[irajaxon]

you're right, i forgot her because i never watched the series. sorry glee!

[archersangel]

There's this woman, Jillian Venters, who has been Goth since the '80s. She has this site talking about Goth stuff & even wrote a book on it (Gothic Charm School: An Essential Guide for Goths and Those Who Love Them). She's White, but gets questions about POC Goths.
https://gothic-charm-school.com/charm/?p=305 (this one is about makeup & fashion for POC Goths)

A link she was sent about POC Goths;
https://www.morbidoutlook.com/lifestyle/articles/2001_02_gothocolour.html

She also has a Tumblr were where people have asked about POC Goth (as well as Punk & Heavy Metal) representation & people have posted things, but I can't find it.
https://gothiccharmschool.tumblr.com/

[alwayspolaris]

IRL I have several poc goth friends, but there's not as many in the media.

Tati Gabrielle, fka twigs, Lisa Bonet of the only gothic/witchy/alt black girls that come immediately to mind and we need more of them because they are all super hot. Darker skin rep is definitely very much needed though. Spooky bitches rise up!

[ohwutevernvm]

PREACH!!!

[alwayspolaris]

Oh if it only needs to be a role and not irl, then yes Death from Sandman, Maze from Lucifer/Sandman (my beloved), Claudia IWTV (tv), Aliyah from Queen of the Damned, Angel Bassett as Marie Laveau in AHS just off the top of my head

Other poc spooky ladies: the titular Girl from A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night, Bai Ling in The Crow (but also in a general Kristen Ritter sort of way), Salma Hayek in Dusk Til Dawn (I am no better than a man, etc. etc.)

[juunanagou18]

yes, definitely queen akasha!

[alwayspolaris]

[irajaxon]

GREAT list!

ok ok, as soon as i finish this damn report and have a recovery night of sleep, i'm putting together this ontd original.

[alwayspolaris]

Sounds great to me! Don't forget Tati in Sabrina, though I couldn't think of a spooky role for fka twigs or lisa bonet (she didn't look spooky in her witchier roles), they just have that kind of style irl. Grace Jones in A View To Kill and/or Vamp might also work :)

[ohwutevernvm]

I really thought she is that girl Maxine Gibson from the Batman Beyond TV series bc that’d be awesome if that gets made into live action series on Netflix

[alwayspolaris]

Ok but Tati Gabrielle as Maxine lets hurry it up so she can play her! Nicholas Hoult would have looked right for Terry but yeah everyone is getting a smidge too old.